Celebration of Intention

Another piece I’ve started incorporating into my classes is Celebration time, which really to me is more the Celebration of Intention, rather than the Celebration of a Finished Piece.

A huge guiding factor in Kathryn‘s way of teaching is that it’s about the process, not the finished product. I didn’t realize how eager I was for the celebration of process, but as soon as I realized what this was about, my mind ached for this focus on intention.

At the end of every class we gather on the couches & everyone takes a turn talking about their work of the day.

Why did they choose that fabric?
Why those shapes or patterns?

And what I love the most: Do you feel the piece is finished? Sometimes we don’t know then if a piece is finished, but we just have a feeling & we need to stop & think about our work.

In an earlier Celebration, one girl commented that she hated her piece & wanted to throw it away. I felt this needed discussion. Instead of just disposing of what we don’t like, let’s stop to think about what made us dislike the work. Was it a design choice? Thread choice? Do we need to add something to it to improve it, or take something away? Did it even begin in a place you wanted it to start?

I feel there’s a need to stop rushing from project to project working only for completions sake. We need to slow down & think about our work, become involved & truly connected to what we’re making.

Creating is a part of us & if we work for production, we don’t give ourselves the space to grow. We grow by learning & reflecting. The Celebration of Process gives us this space.

Read Part 1 & Part 2 of my Evolution as a Teacher for more background about my journey.